


First Day of School

by Arsenic, arsenicarcher (Arsenic)



Series: 14 Valentines [47]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-21
Updated: 2009-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 21:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19912390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsenic/pseuds/Arsenic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsenic/pseuds/arsenicarcher
Summary: Written for 14v 2009.  Theme: Education.





	First Day of School

Her first year at Hogwarts, Hermione had asked Ron, "What happens to the wizard kids who don't go to Hogwarts?"

Ron had frowned. "Everybody goes to Hogwarts, silly."

Hermione had rolled her eyes. "Of course they don't. It says right here in _Hogwarts, a History_ that Hogwarts is one of the most selective wizarding schools on earth. Where do the rest of them go?"

Ron had shrugged. "Dunno. Muggle school, I guess."

Even then--especially then--Hermione had been pretty sure that most of Ron's guesses weren't right.

***

She figured out the answer to her question her first year at the Ministry, after the final Battle when she'd mostly signed on to watch after Ron and Harry as the Ministry trained them up. It was habit, now, and she saw no real reason to break the habit. They were all still alive, after all.

The Ministry, as it turned out, kept records of all the magically-inclined children born in the Isles every year. For the Muggle-borns it was easy: if they didn't develop their magic to a certain level, one high enough for the invitation to Hogwarts, they simply continued on in Muggle education environments, probably aware that there was something slightly off about them, but mostly assuming that they were like everyone else, never imagining that magic actually existed. The thought left Hermione empty in ways she didn't really care to pursue.

Children from magical families, though, didn't really have much of a recourse. There weren't a lot of secondary-level magical education institutions, and most of them were extremely expensive, preying on families that wanted something for their children, anything. Those who couldn't afford it--most--home-schooled their children. With boys, this was slightly easier, as there were several fields wherein boys could take vocational apprenticeships.

The magical world was extremely traditional in certain ways, though, and girls needed almost twice the education and accomplishments of boys to land any sort of job once they reached their majority. Hermione did an extensive search, only to find out that the Ministry, Hogwarts, and almost every major employer in the Isles magical system, employed less than one percent of women who had not graduated from Hogwarts. So far as she could tell, the rest tended shops or stayed home and were married.

It wasn't a fun thing to find out, but Hermione couldn't lie to herself: it was nice having a goal again.

***

Hermione had really thought the funding was going to be a nightmare until George Weasley asked her out on what looked and smelled like a date. Hermione had long since learned that anything that looked and smelled like something with the twins meant that it was probably anything _but_ that something. This had been less true since Fred's death, but that didn't mean Hermione wasn't suspicious. Also, there was the part where her and Ron were in an off-again phase, and if George had no other Gryffindor qualities, he had loyalty in abundance.

Hermione went to dinner with him, though, because he'd asked nicely and there was no obvious reason to say no. Over dinner he said, "Gin's been talking at me."

"Oh?" Hermione wasn't sure what to say to that. Ginny had somewhat single-handedly kept George from falling completely apart after Fred's death. Hermione imagined Ginny talked at George a lot.

"Mostly about how Fred and I didn't really fit the Hogwarts mold. How our education might have been different if the notion of options were to be introduced to the system."

Hermione cut at her meat and didn't say anything. George had a point; she could be patient and let him get there. George said, "We made a lot of money in that last part of the struggle. Money we maybe shouldn't have made."

Hermione thought about Bill and kept her mouth shut. Some punishments were harsh enough without an added lecture. George said, "I thought-- Maybe if I gave you the money, maybe you could name your school after Fred?"

Well then, Ginny really _had_ been talking. Hermione tried to make sure her hands weren't shaking holding the flatware. She said, "It's a _lot_ of money."

"You'd be amazed what people will pay for a smile."

Looking at George, no, Hermione really wouldn't have been. After a long moment she said, "I think The Fred Weasley School for Witches and Wizards is a fantastic name."

"Yeah, not too much of a mouthful, or anything," George said, on the brink of laughter. Hermione wondered if she could make him spill over.

***

Finding staff was a little more difficult. Established by a war hero or not, it wasn't exactly considered a good career move to teach at a British wizarding school that wasn't Hogwarts. Hermione was fine with thinking outside the box a little, though. She found her herbology professor in an extremely talented clerk down in Hogsmeade who'd never so much as seen the outer gates of Hogwarts. Luna, who hadn't a care for what other people thought, came on as the Care of Magical Creature professor. Hermione would handle Charms herself. One of the Aurors who had been injured beyond the ability to return to work agreed to take on the Defense classes. After extensive searching, she found a Squib who had not been cast out of his family but had lived in the Muggle world for years to teach Muggle Studies, and a contact of Minerva's turned up a solid Transfigurations teacher. Ginny found her her Potions teacher in a wizard who freelanced his abilities out to the research department of the joke shop. Astrology was fairly easy as many astrologers were devalued, the preference being for Seers. Hermione wasn't going to have a Divination professor. She'd softened in her feelings toward the field, but she still believed it to be innate, a possibility for one on one study, but not much else.

Arithmancy was near to impossible and Hermione had all but given up when a muggle-born witch from the States with an education that could have rivaled any Hogwarts graduate sent her a letter asking if she might be allowed to participate in the school, as she felt it was modern and interesting and something she'd like to be part of. Hermione skimmed down through her specialties and took a special trip over to the States to formally invite her.

She had an abundance of people offering themselves up for the position of part-time Quidditch coach. In the end, though, she gave the spot to Cho, because she'd come and asked for it to Hermione's face and when Hermione had asked why, Cho had said, "Because you were always good at making important things happen. I just-- Miss being part of something."

Hermione added a few classes to the generally accepted curriculum and reworked a few. For example she changed Muggle Studies to Muggle Relations, History of Magic to History and Current Events, added a Beginner's Latin and an Etymology of Magical Linguistics course, as well as art and music courses, on the basis that imagination underscored every truly great witch and wizard.

She consulted with her staff to rethink the magical schooling schedule which had not been changed in thousands of years. Hermione thought it was best to shake things up occasionally. They played with different blocks of time, breaking courses up into modules, almost any idea that sounded reasonable went into the mix. After all, if one was going to experiment, one had best be, well, experimental.

***

On the first day of courses, all but two of the children whose parents had signed them up to attend arrived if not on time, then very close to it. Almost twenty more children stood at the door, one or more parents holding their hand, hoping to be let in. Hermione hadn't expected that, but it was easy enough to divert some of the staff into helping her get them enrolled. She was going to have to hire some administrative staff. She put the thought aside for later.

The first day was a blur of trying to get the younger children used to the idea of being away from home all day, the older ones to acclimate to being taught magic formally. The second day wasn't much slower, nor the third.

At the end of the week, after the last of the parents had come to collected their children, a few of them lingering to talk to the teachers, ask them questions, or simply thank them for certain things, Hermione looked at the others and said, "Drink?"

Her Defense teacher said, "Or five."

Hermione laughed. "You're buying."

***

The second week, Hermione heard one of the mother's talking to Ciaran, her Potions professor. She was saying, "She'll be the first of us to have a degree, you know? First in a family of thirteen generations."

Ciaran murmured something, but Hermione didn't need to hear what it was. She'd heard more than enough.


End file.
